JUNEAU -- A one-time application could replace an annual hassle for Alaska voters who regularly vote absentee, though fireworks in committee Wednesday kept the measure from advancing.
Under a bill in the House Judiciary Committee, voters could apply for permanent absentee status in state-run elections. After verification by the Division of Elections, those voters would automatically be mailed absentee ballots. Provisions in the bill also address purging ineligible voters.
However, committee chairman Rep. Jay Ramras, a Fairbanks Republican, repeatedly questioned the bill sponsor about its potential for facilitating Alaska Permanent Fund dividend fraud.
He worried that some eligible voters who live outside the state for part of the year could use permanent absentee voting status to claim a Permanent Fund dividend, especially military service people from Alaska serving out of state who get special treatment for maintaining voter eligibility. After the meeting, he explained that as a consequence, they may be able to artificially -- but legally -- extend their PFD eligibility even if they don't plan to return to the state.
Sponsor Rep. Bob Buch, an Anchorage Democrat, said the two issues were separate.
-- The Associated Press
Bill restricting over-the-counter cough medicine sales advances
JUNEAU -- Alaska lawmakers are updating drug laws to address "robotripping," the unregulated psychedelic herb salvia divinorum and abuse of a synthetic prescription opiate used to treat addictions.
The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill Wednesday to restrict sales of over-the-counter medicines containing the cough suppressant dextromethorphan, or DXM, tentatively to those 18 or older. Abusing DXM is also known as "robotripping."
The head of an Alaska substance screening business testified that requests for DXM testing had recently jumped from one a year to one a week.
The bill also adds salvia, typically smoked, and buprenorphine to a list of controlled substances.
The bill now goes to the House Finance Committee. Rep. Kyle Johansen, a Ketchikan Republican, is the sponsor.
-- The Associated Press
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