Mat-Su legislators at work: Land to the borough; safety corridors on Parks Highway, oversight on Alaska LNG

State legislators from Mat-Su are busy in Juneau as the Legislature nears its half-way point. Sen. Rob Yundt, R-Wasilla, is working on legislation that would grant 1,265 acres of state-owned lands to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough for economic development. Yundt’s Senate Bill 255 has had one hearing in the Senate Community and Regional Affairs Committee with a second hearing on Tuesday, March 17.

Besides transferring six parcels of state land to the borough Yundt’s SB 255 would make a key change in law that will help the state speed transfers of lands to municipalities by removing a requirement that surveys be done of parcels selected for transfer by local governments. State law provides that up to 10 percent of available and unappropriated state lands within municipalities can be selected by local governments, but the requirement for surveys has been an impediment.

This has been a big barrier for Mat-Su, borough manager Mike Brown told the Senate Community and Regional Affairs Committee in a March 11 hearing on the bill. “The Mat-Su Borough covers 15.8 million acres but 94 percent of this is state-owned. Only 3 percent of lands in Mat-Su are privately-owned and only 1% are owned by the borough,” Brown said.

Eliminating the survey requirement would help get more land to municipalities, which are better positioned than the state to get land into private ownership. The six parcels with 1,264 acres chosen by the borough are near infrastructure and are prime for development.

“The parcels identified in this legislation are intended for uses that support economic development, infrastructure planning, recreation and community services. Conveying this land to the borough enables more timely development decisions, which are difficult to achieve under continued state ownership,” Yundt told the committee March 11.

Sen. George Rauscher, R-Sutton, is meanwhile engaged in one of most important bills of the 2026 legislative session. The Senate Resources Committee, which Rauscher sites, is working to update a decade-old state law governing the big Alaska LNG Project in which the state could have a 25% ownership. The state’s Alaska Gasline Development Corp. and its private partner, Glenfarne, are now working to secure investments in the first phase of the project, an 800-mile 42-inch gas pipeline from the North Slope to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

The bill in the Senate committee is SB 275. Among other things it would enable the Legislature to get more information about the costs of the project from Glenfarne and private partners it may bring in later. The bill would also clarify tax and royalty provisions in state law, which are important because a share of royalties go to the Alaska Permanent Fund.

The first phase of Alaska LNG, the pipeline, could bring natural gas to Mat-su as the terminus of the phase one pipeline. Gas would be distributed in Southcentral Alaska through the pipeline system operated by Enstar Natural Gas Co. A large liquefied natural gas, or LNG, export plant on the Kenai Peninsula would be built in a second phase of the project.

Meanwhile, two Mat-Su members of the state House are working on bills they have introduced. Rep. Elexie Moore, R-Wasilla, has sponsored bills dealing with vehicle title transfer, in HB 249, and on assessments of farm and agricultural land, in HB 223. A similar bill on this is pending in the Senate, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Kenai. Moore’s HB 249, on vehicle titles, has advanced to the House Rules Committee, one step before its consideration by the full House of Representatives. Rep. Jubilee Underwood, also R-Wasilla, has sponsored bills dealing with mathematics instruction in HB 237; certified nurse training in HB 244, and dietician licensing, in HB 340.

Legislators also work with state agencies in solving problems. For example, Rep. Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake, recently facilitated an agreement with the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to impose a seasonal speed restriction at the Talkeetna turnoff from the Parks Highway, an important safety measure requested by local residents. A similar seasonal restriction may be imposed near Trapper Creek, also on the Parks.

The effort on the Talkeetna turnoff began in 2024 when the Talkeetna Community Council, Susitna Community Council, and Trapper Creek Community Council raised concerns about high traffic speeds and growing crash risks in the Talkeetna Trapper Creek “Y” corridors. McCabe’ worked with local leaders, and then-Senator Mike Shower to push for a formal safety review in the areas. This resulted in the DOTPF, confirming increased traffic volumes in recent years and the need for additional safety measures based on crash data. A temporary 45 miles-per-hour seasonal speed restriction will run May 15 through September 15 in the intersection, during peak tourism months. DOTPF will collect traffic and safety data to decide whether permanent speed-limit adjustments are warranted. McCabe is also urging the department to conduct a study in the Trapper Creek area to address related safety concerns.

This approach mirrors successful seasonal safety measures DOT&PF has implemented in other high-traffic tourism corridors on the Parks including McKinley Village and Glitter Gulch at Denali National Park, McCabe said. “This is Alaska working the way it should: community councils raising real issues, state agencies listening, and elected officials helping turn concerns into action,” he said. “Community voices matter, and persistence pays off.”