Senators Joe Paskvan, Dennis Egan, and Gary Stevens during the closeout hearing of the Senate Finance DEED Subcommittee, March 20, 2012
This blog contains highlights from the Alaska Education Update. The update is issued daily during session and contains detailed summaries of education issues under consideration by the Alaska State Legislature. If there is a hearing on a Monday, a report will, with few exceptions, be released by Tuesday morning. There is also a weekly edition of the update. During interim, reports are issued only when there has been action. Interim action may include hearings, bill signings, the release of the Governor's proposed budget for the next fiscal year, and other items that may be of interest to the education community.

To subscribe to full reports, contact Shana Crondahl at (907) 500-7069 or akedupdate@gci.net. To subscribe to blog posts, submit your email:

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Senate Bipartisan Working Group Press Availability

Scholarship Proposal
Sen. President Gary Stevens said the Senate has been meeting with the House leadership and the Governor. Stevens said that one of the big issues the legislature is working on as the session comes to a close is.....

KINY Website Back Online

And, KINY, my favorite place to go for up-to-date Alaska news briefs is back online.  I have added a link to that site.  It is under the "Friends, Family, and Favorites" links.

House Passes Supplemental Budget

The House passed CSHB 326(FIN) on Monday, March 29, with all 40 representatives voting in favor of passage. No changes were made to the bill on the floor. It has been transmitted to the Senate, and will be referred to the Senate Finance Committee. It is scheduled for a hearing in that committee on Thursday, April 1 at 9:00 a.m.

House Finance Committee Co-Chairman Mike Hawker said HB 326 contains only operating supplemental costs, and authorizes $1.7 billion in additional spending. Of that amount, $1.1 billion forward funds education, $401 million is appropriated to repay the Constitutional Budget Reserve, $600,000 is appropriated to the Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund, there is $125 million for the Marine Highway Stabilization Fund, and $79,000 goes into the Small Business Development Revolving Loan Fund. HB 326 also re-appropriates excess Marine Highway funds for ferry service for the Aleutians for the remainder of FY10 and for all of FY11.

Rep. Woody Salmon noted that HB 326 is made possible by the 2007 oil tax reform.