A week to go in legislative session; important bills may bog down

State legislators have about a week to go before the mandatory end of their 2024 session, and almost all of the big issues appear to be mired in committee.

The one exception is the state budget, which is proceeding smoothly on a schedule agreed by House and Senate leaders.

But everything else is still hanging, including education funding and important legislation related to correspondence study.

There are also critical energy bills to deal with an impending decline in natural gas production in Cook Inlet. Gas is important because it fuels heating for homes and buildings and most power generation in Southcentral Alaska, where half of the state’s population lives.

Cook Inlet gas production is expected to start dropping in 2027 and be in serious decline by 2030, according to the state Division of Oil and Gas.

Bills that would grant new incentives for companies to develop and produce more gas are moving in the Legislature but not quickly enough. There’s worry that these bills, including important tax changes to encourage renewable energy and bills dealing with how power transmission lines are regulated, could get caught up in a last-minute pileup.

The Legislature can extend its session for a few days if needed but it takes a super-majority of House and Senate members to do that.

The issues around electric transmission line regulation are complicated and utilities in the “railbelt” region from Southcentral to Interior Alaska agree changes are needed but disagree on the details, which could be fatal at this late stage of the legislative session.

The pace of committee work is picking up, along with action to pass bills on the House and Senate floor.

On Monday, May 6, the House considered legislation on fisheries rehabilitation permits; rates for motor vehicle warranty work; catastrophic illness medical assistance, and sale of alcohol by persons under 21.

The state Senate approved bills dealing with injured worker rehabilitation; certification of plumbers and electricians; workplace violence protective orders, and Alaska Native languages.

Just passing one body of the Legislature isn’t enough, however, because the other chamber must also give its okay, and any changes made by either must also be approved.

In the closing days this flurry of back-and-forth of approvals create opportunities for legislation to get tripped up in seemingly minor procedural missteps.

Meanwhile, the funding for correspondence students is a hot issue in the closing days of the session. The House and Senate Education Committees continued work last week on House Bill 400 and Senate Bill 266 which deal in different ways with a recent state court decision that struck down parts of the state’s correspondence study program.

There is new urgency to get a bill on correspondence study passed by the end of the session after the judge in the court case ruled last week to stay, or delay, the order only until June to allow students currently enrolled to finish out the school term. The judge refused a request from Gov. Mike Dunleavy to stay the order until the state Supreme Court rules, which could be months.

Both the House and Senate bills change a 2014 statute authored by then-senator Dunleavy that allowed home school students to purchase materials or lessons from religious and private schools.

However, the Senate bill, SB 266, sets guidelines by requiring prior approval for public funds to purchase materials. It also bans payments for family members, services provided by private or religious institutions, travel, food or lodging during family travel unless approved by the school district as connected with instruction.

Memberships or family passes to sports or recreation are also banned unless part of a student’s learning plan. The Senate bill also removes the provision in current law that allows correspondence students and families to opt out of standardized tests like AK STAR that are required for students in traditional “brick and mortar” and charter schools.

Because of the opt-out provision there is now no way to assess the performance of correspondence students or programs. The House bill, HB 400, has restrictions on religious and private instruction but is not as rigorous as the Senate bill in setting guidelines. HB 400 also leaves intact the opt-out provision for standardized tests. Gov. Mike Dunleavy now says he supports HB 400, which has fewer guidelines and restrictions.