Legislative Summary Report
Week 1
The first week of the legislative session was mostly ceremonial, swearing-in the legislators, the Governor's State of the State speech, updates on the state's budget and revenue situation, and press conferences. Already there are 103 bills that have been introduced in both the House and Senate.
On Wednesday, January 25th, at 3:15PM, the House Labor & Commerce Committee will have an overview hearing on residential building codes.
No action is necessary for this hearing.
Andre Spinelli has been invited to provide testimony on behalf of the home builders. Also speaking will be John Anderson from AHFC.The purpose is to provide legislators with a broad description of residential building codes and how the State of Alaska can begin to embrace the concept of adopting a code. By informing legislators of the concept, the goal is to begin the dialogue with our state elected officials whether we can move towards a state residential building code.
On Friday, January 27th, at 3:15PM, the House Labor & Commerce Committee will hear from the plumbers and pipefitters union about their views on the state mechanical code. Again, no action is needed.
The Senate Labor & Commerce Committee held hearings on the status of Alaska's economy. Presentations from the Institute Social and Economic Research (ISER) and Northern Economics painted a grim picture of a recession period over the upcoming two-year period before the state's economy stabilizes. Below is a web link to the presentations that were made:
Here are a few bills (including web links) introduced this past week that may be of interest:
HB60, by Governor Walker, increasing motor fuel taxes.
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