March 4, 2014

Only two weeks left to go unless the legislature decides to extend the session.  No one says they can yet predict if it will go longer. 

Olson is on Senate Finance Committee and it has definitely been heating up.  Recently they have heard the KABATA which is, “An act creating the Knik Crossing Development Corporation as a subsidiary corporation of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation and relating to bonds of the Knik Crossing Development Corporation.”  If it is to pass this legislative session it could mean that it would be open for traffic in 2015.  Some are for the bridge because it improves Alaska’s infrastructure and helps move goods and people more easily about the state in this location.  Some are against the bridge because we are in deficit spending and they think the state can’t afford to take on such a large capital project that only benefits a small portion of the state.

Another major bill in motion right now is HB 278,

“An Act increasing the base student allocation used in the formula for state funding of public education; relating to the exemption from jury service for certain teachers; relating to the powers of the Department of Education and Early Development; relating to high school course credit earned through assessment; relating to school performance reports; relating to assessments; relating to charter schools and student transportation; relating to residential school applications; relating to tenure of public school teachers; relating to unemployment contributions for the Alaska technical and vocational education program; relating to earning high school credit for completion of vocational education courses offered by institutions receiving technical and vocational education program funding; relating to schools operated by a federal agency; relating to the school size factor for public school funding; adjusting the calculation of state aid for public school funding; relating to the local contribution to public education funding; relating to the withholding of state aid to public education for teacher retirement contributions; relating to the teachers' defined benefit retirement plan; establishing the teachers' pension reserve fund; relating to education tax credits; establishing an optional municipal tax exemption for privately owned real property rented or leased for use as a charter school; requiring the Department of Administration to provide a proposal for a salary and benefits schedule for school districts; making conforming amendments; and providing for an effective date." 

Alaska Dispatch came out with a press release making statements that Gov. Sean Parnell’s new provisions that gives more to help the largest schools of those districts.  The funding formula appears that it would favor schools mainly in Anchorage and could potentially hurt rural districts. 

This weekend I will be attending Skits, which is some kind of comedy show where people act as Senators and Representatives and poke fun at them.