Legislature has full plate for 2013 session

It’s been a privilege to serve the Valley as one of your senators these past four years, and I plan to stay engaged as I work through the remaining months of my term. I’d like to first and foremost thank all those who supported me — and my mission to do what’s best for the Valley regardless of politics — during my term. Together we have significantly moved our state forward.

There are still many issues that the next Legislature will have to tackle, and although I won’t be in Juneau to participate in the debates, I’ll still be watching as an Alaskan hopeful that the next generation can have a state as wonderful to live in as I do.

Oil taxes will likely dominate just as they have for the past two years. And regardless of the personal feelings of each legislator, there’s no denying reform is necessary and will likely need to be reached through compromise.

I was, and still am, a supporter of the governor’s plan to reduce taxes on the oil industry, but I also defend the way the Senate took a measured approach to deliberating the bill. A tax regime change of the magnitude being contemplated cannot be rushed through in two short sessions. There are so many variables to consider that the Legislature owes it to the Alaska public to take its time and end up with quality legislation.

There are good starting points the new Legislature can use to kick-start its efforts at reform. Parts of House Bill 110 could be combined with a Senate-passed bill that would have offered a 30 percent tax break for the first 10 years of new oil production. That plan was endorsed by many of the smaller independent oil companies, but the majors are still necessary for large-scale production of the kind that has kept this state running strong for decades.

I believe if legislators and the governor work together, regardless of whose ideas are being promoted, we will solve our dwindling pipeline throughput.

There’s another piece of legislation I very much hope sees the light of day again and becomes law. During the 27th Legislature I filed a bill to create the Susitna State Forest. This bill passed the Senate 20-0, garnering broad bipartisan support and support from the Minority Caucus. We ran short of time to get the bill through the House of Representatives, but the positive economic impact of this bill was recognized by the timber industry.

While it is true that land within a state forest is precluded from being sold by the state to private individuals, the benefit comes from a multi-use area of land that ensures timber is harvested on the sustainable yield principle. This was perhaps the most attractive aspect to local mills that supported my bill: they will know that the Division of Forestry is managing the forest so a perpetual supply of timber is available for them to make a living off of.

During times like these, protecting and promoting our natural resources for responsible development is paramount. It is also very important that our Legislature does not devolve into rank partisanship, the likes of which blinds us to opportunities for or threats against our state. The two parties are bound to disagree — which is fine — but they must also come together and compromise when it will be for the good of the state.

The budget also will continue to be a concern of mine after I’m out of the Legislature. While smart spending is necessary to keep the state humming along, I took pride in the fact that we saved nearly $16 billion during this past legislative session. Alaska, for now, is the one of the richest states in the Union, but we can’t be sure that will last. There are many factors that can impact our treasury — the biggest being continued decline in the pipeline — and it’s the job of current legislators to look into the future in anticipation of what could happen.

We face a major challenge in Alaska where the federal government often dictates what it thinks is best for our state from thousands of miles away. Our representation in Congress is only three strong — even though, geographically, we are a vast area of the United States — and too often congressmen from other states that have dozens of folks representing them in Washington, D.C., view Alaska as one large national park where no one really lives. (Last year, I designed a pin of the United States with an overlay of Alaska on the contiguous United States; call our office for one as a keepsake.)

This is why having a strong Legislature that works together to achieve all we can at the state level is so important. While much of what is decreed at the federal level is largely unstoppable by our state, we should always strive to do what we can within our borders to mitigate the damage done by federal regulations and bureaucrats. This means working together and across the aisle.

That is the ethos I lived by during my term. And while it may have sunk me in the election, I hold my head high knowing that when it came down to what’s best for the people of the state versus a partisan approach, I chose the people.

Over the past four years my office has sent nearly 300 newsletters to subscribers and I made a good attempt to do original quotes. I’ll leave you with one of my favorites: “There’s never a dreary day with a sunny attitude.”

Sen. Linda Menard, R-Wasilla, represents District G in the state Senate.