JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - This week marks the half-way point in the scheduled 90-day session. It also marks the week when some legislators head to Washington, D.C., for meetings related to energy, economic issues and the Arctic.
Six legislators, three each from House and Senate, are expected to attend meetings tied to the Energy Council and Pacific NorthWest Economic Region, a small number compared to recent years. Other lawmakers have been excused for visits to their districts, but both the House and Senate are expected to continue with their work.
Here are three things to watch for this week:
-BUDGET: The House Finance Committee is expected to take public comment on a draft of the operating budget this week. House subcommittees finished work on agency budgets this past week, and their recommendations are expected to be incorporated into a draft of the budget bill that the full committee will work to finalize. Public comment has been scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. There are allotted times for testifiers in various communities around the state. The schedule can be found on the Legislature’s website.
-TEACHERS-JURY DUTY: The House Education Committee is scheduled to hear a bill Monday that would exempt teachers from jury duty during the school term. In his sponsor statement, Rep. Jim Colver, R-Palmer, called it a straight-forward proposal to try to keep teachers in the classroom. An education bill passed during the last session allowed a teacher to be excused from jury duty during the school term if that person taught in a low-performing school.
-PIPELINE OFFICE CLOSING: The office of the federal coordinator for Alaska gas line projects is closing up shop.
The Washington, D.C. office closed Friday, while the Anchorage office will close this coming Friday, federal coordinator Larry Persily said by email. The closure will affect four employees, including Persily, and comes after Congress failed to include funding for the office in the spending bill it passed last year.
Persily said he believed the office has done a lot to help federal regulatory agencies, explain the liquefied natural gas project the state has been pursuing to the public and to explain why such large-scale gas investments are so hard to put together.
Persily said that he did not have any specific plans for the future yet but wanted to work in Alaska on oil and gas and other issues.
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Online:
Alaska Legislature: https://akleg.gov/
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