Valley delegates talk legislation

MAT-SU - With the start of the 2012 legislative session just nine days away, the Mat-Su Valley's delegation has pre-filed a couple of bills and is looking to revive a few that stalled last session.

Most delegates noted that, as with most recent years, the bulk of the time in the session starting Jan. 17 will likely be spent on budgeting and oil and gas issues. But most legislators also have a few other pieces of legislation they'd like to see approved.

Rep. Wes Keller, R-Wasilla, said he plans to introduce a resolution calling for a U.S. Constitutional amendment requiring the federal government to get acquiescence from a majority of states before passing an unbalanced budget.

"Quite a few states are jumping on that one, it's one that I think is really important and needs to be done," he said.

He's also excited about his school vouchers bill and said a lot of his colleagues have joined him in working on it.

"We expect to see some movement on that," Keller said.

Rep. Mark Neuman, R-Willow, said the bill he's most focused on is a piece of legislation that would change statutory language to allow the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority to continue its work building a bridge from Anchorage to Point MacKenzie.

He's also sponsoring a bill to change state statutes regulating the use of deadly force.

"You have the right to use deadly force anywhere that you have the right to be. Period," is how Neuman wants the law to read.

"Right now, Alaska says you have a duty to retreat. You have to do everything that you can to get out of there first," Neuman said.

He said he thinks that gives the bad guys an advantage. Alaskans, he said, need the ability to stop someone from raping or killing them.

"Alaska statutes allow for the right to defend yourself if that's happening, but this gives you the right to act before it happens," he said.

Sen. Linda Menard, R-Wasilla, has said many times before that she also has prioritized Knik Arm Bridge legislation.

She's also announced plans this week to create a Susitna State Forest west of the Parks Highway. Designating the area a state forest would allow the state's Division of Forestry to manage timber resources there.

Menard wrote in an opinion column in today's Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman that a forest is significantly different from a park and the change would allow for timber harvesting rather than locking up resources.

It would still allow for recreational use of the area.

As for new, pre-filed legislation, the only Valley delegate to file a bill in the first batch released last week was Rep. Bill Stoltze, R-Butte. His legislation would outlaw a type of synthetic designer drug known as bath salts, placing them into the same legal category as methamphetamine.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.