Alaska Editorial: Cut state travel spending

  • Tuesday, September 29, 2015 1:00am
  • Opinion

The following editorial first appeared in the Ketchikan Daily News:

Alaska officials should severely limit state travel, particularly given the latest $91,000 trip taken by 42 legislators and staff.

Seventeen legislators and 25 staff members attended the National Conference of State Legislatures’ annual summit in Seattle in August. For some, hotel charges reached over $400 per night.

The legislators included 16 House members and one senator from Eagle River. Sen. Anna MacKinnon is co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee. Rep. Mark Neuman of Big Lake also attended; he is co-chair of the House Finance Committee.

The conference is designed to give states influence on national policy.

The trip comes in the midst of state budget cuts as a result of declining oil revenue. Cuts reached $400 million this year, and higher reductions are anticipated in the future.

This all goes to say:

• The trip cost the equivalent of between one and two state positions held by Alaskans in a period when state jobs are being lost.

• Downtown Seattle hotels charge twice those in nearby Southcenter or the airport. With rail service from Southcenter to downtown, hotel accommodations could have been half what legislators and staff charged to the state.

• Perhaps in hindsight legislators might have selected a smaller, representative contingent and accomplished the same goal of including Alaska in the summit. It’s unlikely that 45 Alaskans needed to be there. It’s a stretch that even half that number had to attend, whether the state is in a financial crisis or not. Just because we have the money — when we do — is no reason to spend it.

We don’t doubt that Alaska gained something from the summit, but how much is the question. That should be answered in a legislative report to Alaskans. We’re interested.

Legislators also should consider the perception of travel such as that undertaken for the Seattle summit. The price of Alaska’s attendance, without an aforementioned report, seriously hurts the Legislature’s credibility with Alaskans.

Such trips probably aren’t limited to the Legislature, either. Given that this trip occurred, Alaskans now only wonder what other state officials are traveling unnecessarily, especially in a day and age of high-technological communication.

It’s a new day in Alaska. We don’t have the money we used to have to spend on summits outside of the state. We can be more frugal in our travel choices.

More in Opinion

Web
Have something to say?

Here’s how to add your voice to the conversation.

From left, Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) head to the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday morning, July 1, 2025. Senate Republicans were racing on Tuesday morning to lock down the votes to pass their sweeping tax and domestic police bill, after an all-night session of voting and negotiating with holdouts left Trump’s agenda hanging in the balance. (Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times)
My Turn: Murkowski’s moment of shame

She has no excuse for not following the model Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., set when he killed Joe Biden’s biggest initiative in 2021.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks about his decision to veto House Bill 57 during a press conference at the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, May 19, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Governor deposits a veto to help predatory lenders

Thousands of Alaskans get so squeezed on their finances every year that… Continue reading

Deven Mitchell is the executive director and chief executive officer of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. (Photo courtesy of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.)
Opinion: The key to a stronger fund: Diversification

Diversification is a means of stabilizing returns and mitigating risk

The Tongass National Forest sign seen en route to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Opinion: Environmentalists without an honest cause

I took a little liberty with their statement because they took a lot of liberty with the facts.

A Juneau Police Department vehicle patrols a neighborhood near Juneau International Airport after warning a person camped along the side of the road they need to move their campsite on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Homeless, not helpless — Part 2

In January 2017, I penned a My Turn entitled “Homeless Not Helpless”… Continue reading

In this June 23, 2016, photo, the Alaska Marine Highway ferry Matanuska passes Eagle Glacier. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
More competitive wages will shore up AMHS workforce

The Alaska Marine Highway System provides transportation along thousands of miles of… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Life is harder when you outlive your support group

Mom was ready to die, knowing the world would be OK. Or so she thought.

Participants in “No Kings” protest walk down Egan Drive waving an American flag on Saturday, June 14, 2025 (Natalie Buttner / Juneau Empire)
Opinion: Why we protest

Along with more than a thousand other Juneauites, I attended the “No… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter: Public broadcasting is part of the fabric of Alaska’s rural communities

Public broadcasting forms an essential part of the fabric of Alaska’s rural… Continue reading

Members of the Yées Ḵu.oo Dance Group perform at the Cancer Survivors Day walk on Sunday, June 8, 2025, at Overstreet Park. (Ellie Ruel / Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter: Thank you

Each June, people around the world commemorate National Cancer Survivors Day. Cancer… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 24, 2025. (Tom Brenner / The New York Times)
My Turn: But wait a minute, if…

I thought it might be worthwhile to add some historical perspective to… Continue reading