Legislative Priorities for 2025
Alaska lawmakers propose 81 bills for 2025, focusing on education funding, retirement reform, and a natural gas shortage.Lawmakers unveiled an initial slate of 81 proposed measures on Friday, offering the first glimpse of their personal and collective priorities before the State Legislature convenes later this month. Both the House and Senate expect to be guided by bipartisan coalitions comprising Democrats, independents, and moderate Republicans who aim to center their work on a long-standing plan to increase public education funding, address the state’s beleaguered retirement system, and tackle a natural gas shortage that threatens many Alaska communities.
However, these bills serve only as indicators of overall goals. According to a report by Iris Samuels for Anchorage Daily News, in the previous two-year term, lawmakers introduced 803 measures, of them, approximately one in five passed both the House and the Senate. Among the more contentious proposals is a bill by Rep. George Rauscher to repeal the ranked choice voting and open primary system, reverting elections to partisan primaries and single-choice general ballots. Despite efforts by the Alaska Republican Party to do away with the system, the bipartisan coalitions are unlikely to favor a return to old rules, since open primaries benefited several of their members. Election-related bills also include Rep. Calvin Schrage’s measure to reinstate campaign contribution limits. Alaska has gone four years without such caps, triggering significant outside spending during the most recent election cycles. Meanwhile, Sen. Bill Wielechowski’s proposal would encourage school districts to ban cellphone use by students, although local authorities would determine specific rules. Another measure by Rep. Maxine Dibert aims to provide free breakfast and lunch to all public-school students statewide, echoing a practice some states embraced after federal pandemic-era funding for universal meals ended. On the legislative process itself, Sen. Cathy Giessel proposes doing away with the statutory 90-day session limit, which is typically ignored in favor of the constitutional 121-day cap. Conversely, Sen. Matt Claman wants to enshrine the 90-day restriction in the constitution. Claman is also seeking to amend the constitution to reduce the number of votes needed to override gubernatorial vetoes, which have frequently derailed legislation and budget items under Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Other bills address public safety and the environment. Sen. Bert Stedman hopes to establish an Alaska Flood Authority to provide insurance in areas prone to natural disasters. Rep. Kevin McCabe again proposes recognizing gold and silver as legal tender, a concept advanced last year but never taken up in the Senate. Rep. Dan Saddler would cap the number of state holidays at 12, and Sen. Robb Myers aims to expand Alaska’s safe surrender law by permitting the use of “safety devices” attached to public facilities in which infants can be surrendered. While many of these proposals may not advance, they illuminate the wide range of issues occupying lawmakers as they prepare for the upcoming legislative session. |