Labor and Commerce Committee: Senator Costello Resources Committee: Sen. Revak State Affairs Committee: Sen. Shower, Chair Transportation Committee: Sen- ator Myers, Chair Health and Social Services Com - mittee: Sen. Wilson, Chair Judiciary Committee: Sen. Rein- bold, Chair Education Committee: Sen. Hol- land, Chair Rules Committee: Sen. Stevens, Chair
House members say. The House has 20 Republicans, 16 Democrats, one dissident Repub - lican (Rep. Louise Stutes of Kodiak) and three independents aligned so far with Democrats. In this situa- tion a coalition of some kind is re- quired for the House to be able to function. Having just one indepen- dent, as an example, shift over to give a one-vote advantage to a Re- publican majority isn’t enough. In a 21-19 world Rep. David East - man, R-Wasilla, holds a key card in the House because of his history of voting “no” on every bill. With such a thin margin East- man effectively blocks any bill, even the budget, from getting 21 votes needed to pass the House. Unless a budget is passed by June 30 state government shuts down. More are needed to give the leadership, who- ever it winds up to be, a margin of comfort for votes on key bills like the budget. Creating a coalition with suf - ficient margin to govern will take some time but experienced legisla - tors say that is better than to rush things with a narrow majority that will either fracture quickly or have to be managed so rigidly as to cre- ate hard feelings among members. Some say that happened with the House coalition in the last Legisla- ture. However the House eventually organizes, the major issue of the 2021 session will be Gov. Mike Dun - leavy’s proposed two large Perma - nent Fund Dividend payments to citizens that would total $4,972. One payment of $1,900 would be made in late March, the governor has proposed. Another PFD of about $3,000 would be paid in November. The PFD payments will become a major source of contention as law- makers also deal with serious fi- nancial issues facing the state. The Legislature has final authority to set the amount of the dividend and does so depending on what funds are available. In the governor’s plan for a FY 2022, Dunleavy has proposed what is in most part status-quo spending for state agencies, although there are $291 million in cuts in budget that would mostly be done without major changes to state programs. State agencies that work with Alaska’s resource development in - dustries are likely to see their bud-
gets remain intact, a relief to com- panies who worry over regulatory agencies’ ability to review and issue permits. Competent review of per - mits is necessary to forestall legal challenges by anti-development groups. — Tim Bradner Bradner has reported on the Alaska Legislature for decades Senate committee appointments Finance Committee: Sen. Bishop and Sen. Stedman, Cochairs
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Winter 2021
The Alaska Miner
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