Legislative session ends with pleasing result on revenue sharing

DONALD OLSON

April 28, 2008 at 9:29AM AKST

 

For The Arctic Sounder

The Legislature finished the new 90-day with a rushed feeling.

The large revenue surplus placed additional pressure on both saving and spending money.

Still, there was time to accomplish some good things for the state and the district.

Resolving the education funding allocation and getting a good municipal revenue-sharing package with the retirement liability fix early in the session was key to our success this year.

It brought financial certainty and security to both of these governmental functions that are so important on the local level.

In the first case, getting a commitment to a more realistic area cost factor was a significant achievement.

I am particularly proud of the revenue sharing, because it was my bill, Senate Bill 72, that locked in the sharing formula. This success was a collaborative effort among many legislators. Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, in particular, should be credited with getting $60 million for each of the next three years to fund this program.

Along with my senior assistance bill last year, this legislation has the most statewide effect.

Improvements to rural law enforcement took up the majority of my time. Accomplishing the recommendations of the Village Public Safety Officer Task Force was more of a struggle than I expected.

In the end, the increases to VPSO salaries and the authorization for 15 new positions were approved.

I am intrigued with Gen. Charles Campbell’s plans to give military police training to National Guard units. Can this become another element for rural law enforcement?

This year’s capital budget at $2.7 billion is one of the largest ever passed. In addition, a general obligation bond proposal will appear on the November ballot with $315 million in transportation projects spread throughout the state.

For our district, there is about $165 million in projects. The list is too long to present here, but it can be found online at olson.aksenate.org.

Another accomplishment of the session was getting the state to begin a construction program for long-term care facilities in rural Alaska. The state will save on Medicaid money for the operation of these facilities.

For our district, the value is caring for our elders closer to home. Kotzebue and Bethel facilities are in the capital budget for this year, a Nome facility is next up, and others are forthcoming.

Three programs were established to bring some relief to Alaskans with high energy costs.

Approximately $300 million was appropriated for home weatherization repairs that reduce heating fuel use.

Ten million dollars were put into an expanded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which issues grants averaging $780 per winter for energy costs.

The income eligibility threshold for the program was lifted from $26,250 to $39,375 for a two-person household.

Finally, House Bill 152 establishes a renewable fund that will be built up with deposits of $50 million per year over the next five years.

This fund will provide grants for alternative energy project proposals. Correspondingly, there is a coal bed methane project funded for Wainwright that shows great promise for small village application.

I assisted Boyuk Ryan and the Alaska Air Carriers Association get a Capstone program established for the safety of Alaska’s flying public.

This technology provides pilots a real-time, three-dimensional display of an aircraft’s position with respect to the surrounding terrain and other safety features.

Installation of the technology is scheduled for the Kotzebue and Nome area in 2009.

Two of my bills, SB 119 and SB 139, passed without much difficulty.

The first provides two grant programs for school and public libraries. One for increasing libraries’ collection of books, audiovisual and other information sources, and the other is for maintenance repairs and capital improvements.

Senate Bill 139 extends limited liability protections to bush airstrip owners and operators.

Two other bills that were approved after much difficulty were SB 124 and SB 251. The first increased funding for the Alaska Vocational Technical Center in Kotzebue and the Northwestern Alaska Career and Technical Center in Nome.

Senate Bill 251 keeps limited entry commercial fishing permits for hair crab and scallops from lapsing.

Some of these permits are owned by the Norton Sound Economic Development Corp. and the Coastal Village Region Fund.

In the end, it was a fight between the desires of some Kodiak and Homer fishermen and the existing permits’ value to the CDQ groups.

On the last day, the substance of SB 251 was attached to SB 254 and passed by both bodies.

My biggest disappointment this session was not getting a fix for the Coastal Management Program, which was gutted by the previous administration.

This program is the only way for meaningful local involvement in state and federal resource management decisions in our area, particularly regarding subsistence concerns.

Senate Bill 161 and Rep. Reggie Joule’s companion HB 243 received a number of committee hearings that revealed how totally dysfunctional the program really is.

We ran out of time, and the pleas of the Department of Natural Resources to let them first do a complete review of the program did not help either.

Despite that, I think we made great progress and I hope to pick up on the work next year if I am returned.

I have enjoyed having Reps. Joule and Richard Foster to help work on the district’s problems and needs. Their contribution to our overall success was equally important.

Sonja Schaeffer will once again staff the Kotzebue office this summer. You will find her there from May 1-Sept. 30, and she can be reached at (907) 442-3501.

In Juneau, call (907) 465-3707 and in Anchorage call (907) 269-0254, or use the toll free number, (800) 597-3707.

State Sen. Donald C. Olson, D-Nome, represents District T.