The Legislature’s decision this year to forgo the historical formula means the state will spend about $670 million on dividends, instead of the roughly $1.5 billion that would have been budgeted before.
The Alaska House ethics subcommittee reprimanded Rep. Tammie Wilson for using state money to send a mailer to people outside her legislative district, which it said could be construed as a campaign effort.
Anchorage Republican state Sen. Kevin Meyer is the second formal entrant into the race, leaving a vacant Senate seat on the Hillside.
Lawmakers have failed to resolve major proposals to fix the state's multibillion-dollar deficit, such as through new taxes or a restructuring of the Permanent Fund.
A new batch of reports says that Alaska could rack up significant savings from consolidating the different public health care plans for schools, cities and the state.
The initiative proposal takes aim at several legislative perks and practices that have faced criticism amid Alaska’s huge deficit.
In its ruling, the Alaska Supreme Court used sweeping language to support the idea that a citizen should be allowed to halt improper government practices.
GOP Rep. Charisse Millett, who represents the other House seat in Meyer’s district, said she’s also interested in running for the state Senate if there’s an opening.
Two of the people working with it -- Sitka Democratic Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and political consultant Jim Lottsfeldt -- declined to comment about their plans.
A pair of proposed ballot measures from a group of Alaska doctors comes with the support of a union-backed group based in Washington, D.C.
A meager capital budget passed the Legislature on Thursday, to help draw down more than $1 billion in federal funds. One big project is already taking fire as a potential waste of money.
The draft capital budget, a compromise hammered out by legislative leaders, is expected to be approved Thursday.
Sen. Shelley Hughes said she will be in Juneau this week to help pass a capital budget.
Lawmakers are headed back to Juneau for the third special session of the year on Thursday, an expected one-day meeting to allow lawmakers to pass a slender — and delayed — capital budget that leverages more than $1 billion in funds.
“There’s an agreement among the House and the Senate that this is something we can both live with,” said Homer Rep. Paul Seaton.
Alaska lawmakers have collected as much as $45,000 each to cover their expenses in Juneau this year, even as proposals to reduce that spending have languished.
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, at a Monday news conference, said he'll await more progress from state lawmakers in private negotiations before he calls them back to work in Juneau on a capital budget and fiscal plan.
The bill passed late Saturday will end cash payments to oil companies. But there was no agreement on a plan to pass the state capital budget, which is already two weeks late.
The Alaska Legislature on Friday was nearing the end of its second special session with no progress looking likely on its major pending issues. And Gov. Bill Walker offered no clear indication of what he'd ask from lawmakers next.
With the clock ticking down on its special session, the Alaska Legislature held a hearing on oil taxes Wednesday that quickly devolved into an airing of grievances. No deals were apparent.
