Despite minority status, Republicans in state House score legislative successes

After one of the strangest sessions in recent memory, punctuated by often confusing developments, the Alaska House Republicans highlighted some of successes for the 32nd Alaska State Legislature, which ends in 2022.

Both the House and Senate adjourned as the clock was hitting midnight at the constitutional deadline on the 121st legislative day.

Perhaps the most important issue to many Alaskans is the status of the 2022 permanent fund dividend. At the beginning of this session, many legislators and experienced capitol observers had little hope for an amount exceeding $2,500 which is roughly the amount of the Governor’s so-called “50/50” plan which he rolled out last year.

The 50-50 plan splits the Alaska Permanent Fund’s annual contribution to the state between support for the budget and the dividend. Earlier this spring the House sent a budget to the Senate with a payment to citizens of $2,550 including an “energy relief” payment of $1,200 and the remainder being the regular 2022 dividend.

In an unexpected development, the Senate sent back a budget that included a full “statutory” dividend, or one calculated on the basis of a 1980s-era formula in the statutes of $4,300 in addition to the energy relief payment of $1,200, for a total of $5,500 per citizend As the dust settled, the House ultimately approved an amount of approximately $3,150.

The House Republican minority leader, Rep. Cathy Tilton, R-Chugiak/MatSu, had mixed thoughts. “As a vocal proponent of following the statutory formula, I’m obviously disappointed. However, we still approved the largest dividend amount in state history and managed to stop any further erosion in the amount, which would have absolutely occurred if the Legislature extended the session of the Governor had to call us back.”

“It is essential to get as much money into the hands of everyday Alaskans because of skyrocketing inflationary costs,” Tilton said.

Reflecting on his first term, Rep. David Nelson (R-Muldoon/JBER), a freshman member of the House, said, “When I arrived, I had hopes and expectations about moving good policy forward. While I had some success, I’ve come to realize that in the legislative process, very often preventing bad or worse things from happening is a huge win.” Nelson was successful in passing measures benefitting veterans and active-duty military.

Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, a member of the House Finance Committee said, “On a positive note, we passed an operating budget without significant increases.” He added that, “going into an election year there were well orchestrated and financed efforts to restore a defined benefit retirement plan in the state which, despite advocates’ assertions to the contrary, would have exploded the state’s unfunded (pension) liability. Fortunately, we were able to stop all those measures.”

Outside of fiscal issues, there were several significant wins for the House Republicans. Until the final hours of the Legislature it appeared the “Alaska Reads” act, supported by many Republicans and Democrats alike, had stalled because of maneuvers by House Majority members in the House Education Committee.

Rep. Mike Cronk (R-Tok) a long-time elementary and middle school teacher and member of the House Education Committee expressed relief that much of the bill passed after the Senate inserted it into another bill in the final hours of the session. “It is incredibly disappointing and frustrating that partisan politics would interfere with making sure that all Alaska children are able to read by the 3rd grade. Fortunately, there were a majority of members from both bodies who had the wisdom to put aside partisanship and do what’s right for our children.”

Also of significance were several pieces of crime legislation that also made it over the finish line after being inserted into another bill in the waning hours of the session. House Bill 235, itself an important piece of crime legislation became the vehicle for much of the Governor Mike Dunleavy’s anti-crime package. The governor has introduced his crime bills separately but as often happens they were “rolled into” other crime bills.

Rep. Sarah Vance (R-Homer), a member of the House Judiciary Committee gave an emotional floor speech when HB 325 returned from the Senate with the inclusion of HB 5, a bill relating to sexual assault and sexual abuse of a minor that was sponsored by Democrats in the House. “Every decision we make as lawmakers is to balance the scales of justice. Strengthening domestic violence and sexual consent law gives hope to victims that their voices are heard and reiterates the expectation that no means no and yes means yes,” Vance said.

Summing up, Rep. DeLena Johnson (R-Palmer) said, “There was profound cooperation between the Governor, the Senate, and the House Republican Caucus to accomplish what we did in the final hours. This is the type of collaboration that Alaskans have a right to expect, and we hope to see much more of this when the 33rd Alaska Legislature returns next January.”