Summer / Special Session Updates

Representative James Kaufman

House District 28

Volume 1, Issue 8, July 2021

Introduction

Welcome back to our newsletter! We are in the middle of summer and about to head into the third special session. Governor Dunleavy amended his original proclamation to delay the session and change the scope of the session, but more on that below.

Read the Governor's Press Release Here

The reason for delaying the special session has been to allow the Comprehensive Fiscal Plan Working Group time to finish its work and allow public input to the decisions. If you are available at the below times, please visit the meeting or call in on Monday to share your thoughts on any topics related to the fiscal situation of the State of Alaska.

Wasilla : 6-9 p.m. Friday at the Mat-Su Legislative Information Office, 600 Railroad Ave. No. 1 in Wasilla.
Fairbanks: 1-4 p.m. Saturday at the Fairbanks Legislative Information Office, 1292 Sadler Way, Suite 308.
Juneau and Remote: 6-9 p.m. Monday at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau

Anyone who can’t visit an office in person can call into the Monday hearing. Juneau residents can call 907-586-9085, Anchorage residents can call 907-563-9085, and other Alaskans can call 844-586-9085.

In this newsletter I'm giving some updates and insights into where we are now, what is immediately up next, and my thoughts. And of course, the usual Quality Corner. If you’re curious about past newsletter editions, see below for links.

Newsletter #1 (Vision, Mission, and Organization): https://conta.cc/3q7r6WV

Newsletter #2 (Legislative Process and Committees): https://conta.cc/3stR8US

Newsletter #3 (How I Consider Bills and Policy): https://conta.cc/3qG4Lze

Newsletter #4 (The Alaska State Budget Process): https://conta.cc/3ceU3M2

Newsletter #5 (Sessions of the Alaska Legislature): https://conta.cc/3mELRbC

Newsletter #6 (My First Bill! And House Updates): https://conta.cc/3dOwUB0

Newsletter #7 (Permanent Fund Mechanics and Bills): https://conta.cc/34za6iV

As always, I love hearing from my constituents and other Alaskans, so reach out by phone or email and tell me your thoughts, concerns, or anything else!

My Updates

Sometimes I just have to pause and listen to REO Speed Wagon’s “Roll with the Changes”. The catchy chorus is a great thing to keep in mind while considering all of the things that are currently in play and the impact that those changes could bring our way.

So, let’s roll!

As mentioned above, the Governor has revised his call for a special session, it’s delayed by two weeks to Monday August 16^th, at 2:00 p.m. at the request of the Majority/Minority leadership of the Senate and House. The request was for the purpose of allowing more time for the bipartisan/bicameral Fiscal Policy Working Group to have hearings, engage the public, and come to a conclusion in the form of policy recommendations.

The subject matter of the call is amended, and is now inclusive of/limited to:
Spending Cap: HJR 6 / SJR 5, or similar resolutions proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to an appropriation limit; and relating to the Constitutional Budget Reserve fund.
Permanent Fund, PFD, and PCE: HJR 7 or SJR 6, proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to the Alaska Permanent Fund, appropriations from the Alaska Permanent Fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend, and power cost equalization.
New Revenue Measures: An act or acts relating to measures to increase state revenues.

It’s important to note that the wording in the HJR 6 / SJR 5 line item allows the flexibility for “similar resolutions" to be considered, while the wording for the HJR 7 / SJR 6 line item is limited to those specific resolutions.

The item referring to “increase state revenues” allows a great deal of flexibility for all of the various forms of revenues including all forms of taxes, user fees, or anything else that might increase income to the state. I’m wondering if I could include a piece of legislation for a bake sale in this call?

I know, that’s silly. I’m just kidding! I’m just trying to point out that the last item provides a great range of possibilities.

There are other agenda items which also appear to be missing: appropriating the dividend, reverse sweep provisions, and voter approval of new revenue measures. We shall see if these are errors that get fixed, but for now this is what is on the table.

So after public input and other deliberations are complete, we will get recommendations from the working group which will most likely include some form of consensus on the assumptions to use in calculation of current and projected metrics. These assumptions include fund values/returns, other revenue, oil prices, spending, inflation, etc. This is important because all financial projections are based upon values that are constantly changing over time and that can be calculated in various ways. It’s important to clearly understand the accuracy and likelihood of various estimates and lock in the most accurate assumptions for everybody to use.

It will be much more difficult for the group to come to a consensus on all of the issues that are on the table including how to restructure the permanent fund and dividend calculation, more or less spending, and more taxes.

My personal hope is that we successfully pass a resolution for a meaningful appropriation limit and also agree to merge the Permanent Fund earnings and principal accounts into a single and more efficient fund from which an up to 5% POMV annual appropriation is made.

The other potential changes including the proposed 50/50 split and new revenue sources really need to be worked together if we are to avoid creating a funding gap. Additionally, my stated campaign position was that I did not agree with creating new taxes to sustain current spending and larger PFDs. I still believe that we need to have a serious discussion about driving greater efficiencies in government, and doing more to liberate our private sector productive economy.

As always, I am interested in your thoughts, so please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Quality Corner

Challenges affect agencies, organizations, and businesses of all shapes and sizes. Government is no exception. Every organization will, at some point, undergo a transition or change in order to respond to external events, strategic changes, or internal projects. In the private sector, organizations use a tool called organizational change management. This is the process of managing change to bring about a successful resolution and avoid all possible negative effects of change. A controlled method of getting from Point A, the current state, to point B, the desired future state.

One of the most useful tools in change management is a project, a controlled endeavor with a clear start and finish date that produces a new or changed product, service, or result.

Extremely high-level factors which must be addressed are listed below. If any of these factors are not satisfied, then the change will become out of control and results will vary.

Identifying requirements
Addressing needs, concerns, and expectations of stakeholders
Setting-up, maintaining, and carrying out communications with stakeholders that are active, effective, and collaborative
Managing stakeholders towards meeting project requirements and deliverables
Balancing all of the competing constraints. A few examples are below
Scope
Quality
Schedule
Budget
Resources
Risks

This is very brief, but both major structural changes to our state as well as miniature operations improvement projects must be managed effectively to avoid negative impacts. Change management should always be at the top of one's mind when designing future states and overseeing projects which are responsible for changes.