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To sum up the 2014 session: It was a good news, bad news session for Alaskans. I had the honor of serving as the Democratic leader in the state Senate, so what follows is a report from our caucus on some issues of importance to Alaska’s fast growing senior population. Established in 2007, the Senior Benefits Program pays cash benefits to Alaskan seniors with low or moderate incomes. The program faced an approaching sunset date, and Democrats offered a bill in 2013 to keep the program running indefinitely. This session the legislature voted t...
This year, I have assumed the duties of the Democratic leader in the Senate. Senator Johnny Ellis passed the torch to me, and taking over from such a people’s champion is humbling. I want to take a moment to bring you up to date on what’s happening in Juneau. Last spring I wrote about oil tax reductions that had narrowly passed. I reported that as a result of that decision we had lost $4.5 billion to three of the richest corporations in the world, and I expressed my concern that this would lead to a loss of funds for vital services such as K-12...
ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and BP all did very well this legislative session. The rest of us? Not so great. We lost $4.5 billion to three of the richest corporations in the world, money that could have been used to educate our children, provide public safety, and support vital programs such as the Senior Benefits Program and Alaska’s Pioneer Homes. I don’t believe in sacrificing essential services for Alaskans in order to increase oil industry profits. SB 21, the Governor’s oil wealth giveaway, will cause the state to choose between runni...
